Goldman’s O’Neill Says Yuan Band Widening Heralds ‘Soft Landing’

By Michael Patterson and Kevin Crowley -
Apr 14, 2012

Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Chairman Jim O’Neill said China’s decision to widen the yuan’s
trading band for the first time since 2007 increases his
confidence that the Chinese economy will cool only gradually.

“It adds to my confidence in a soft landing,” O’Neill
said in an email today. The change is positive for equities
because it shows reformers are “in charge,” while “for FX it
just means more volatility,” he said.

O’Neill coined the term BRIC in 2001 to describe Brazil,
Russia, India and China. He predicted in a March 16 interview
with Bloomberg Television that the Chinese government would
allow bigger swings in the currency.